Rotch Library Exhibit Archives: 1999-2010

An Uncertain Moment Laura Rushfeldt December 1, 2009 – January 29, 2010 This exhibition provides a photo chronicle of contemporary life in Kosovo. Kosovo’s political condition and its effect on the Kosovar people is complex, ambiguous, and fluid. At best, this effect can be grasped only through examples and snapshots that provide momentary understanding. The exhibition is an attempt is to provide a lens into contemporary Kosovo through the individuals the artist met and the stories they were willing to share with her. The collection of many small stories culminated in two larger ones, the lives of Medina, an 11-year […]

Grasping Necessity: A Rodeo Portrait

Location: Rotch Main Gallery + Reading Room Columns “For these rodeo photographs, I concentrate on moments of strength, of spirit, of tenacity, wild. Most important to me are emotions that arise from interconnected relationships — animal and human forms. Racing through a timed trial. A successful ride takes practice, skill, and the endurance to simply hang on. I am mesmerized by the visceral pleasures of photographing rodeos. By the sound of pounding hooves on earth; the smell of animals; the magic of light shifting from day to night; witnessing human courage in the midst of excitement. Success for me is […]

The Great Stride: MIT Moves to Cambridge

MIT was one of the initial occupants of Boston’s Back Bay in the 1860s, but within 40 years there was little vacant acreage for the maturing Institute to acquire in the rapidly developing neighborhood. By the early 20th century MIT began to explore in earnest for a new site. This exhibit celebrates MIT’s move in 1916 across the Charles River to its current location in Cambridge. The Great Stride illuminates the people who envisioned, labored, and provided the resources to build the “New Technology,” and celebrates the three days of festivities and dedication in June of 1916 which hailed the […]